LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 68
Chapter 68: The Curse of Withered Wings
Meeting with Orphen, accepting Leila, and mastering the magic of transformation—while doing various things, the night was drawing to a close.
It was the time when most residents of the Demon Lord Castle would be going to bed, and normally I would be too, but I decided to prioritize dealing with Leila’s “Withered Wings” first.
However, since Leila was still in her doll form, she didn’t have wings, making it hard for Liliana to understand what I meant to dispel.
So, I decided to go out to the training grounds to revert her transformation.
—On the training grounds at dawn, beastman warriors were busy training. There were no signs of demons or night elves.
“U-umm, is it really okay…?”
Leila, having removed her collar, nervously rubbed her neck as she confirmed.
‘—It’s dangerous. We don’t know what she might do.’
There were counterarguments from my group regarding reverting Leila to her original form. It was not just that it had been too short a time since we accepted her; after all, I was the one seeking revenge for my father, and allowing her to turn back into her dragon form seemed reckless.
‘Your concerns are valid. However, Leila is a sensible child. I believe she won’t do anything like that.’
Recognizing the danger, I still granted permission.
…I didn’t say it out loud, but in the unlikely event that Leila attacked, I believed I could handle it just fine. The opposing side had quieted down because I had already taken down Faravgi by myself.
“……..”
For safety, however, my personal guards, including Virosa, were fully equipped and on standby in the training grounds. Particularly, Sword Saint mode Virosa had her hand resting on her sword’s grip, her eyes gleaming as if determined to redeem her past failures.
If she tried anything odd, they’d chop her down—Leila, feeling the weight of those words, seemed to shrink a bit.
“U-um…”
“It’s fine, Leila. Let’s fix your wings quickly.”
“Y-yes…”
Leila nodded firmly at my words and began to slip off her dress.
Whoa. I averted my gaze.
Out of the corner of my eye, I felt her pale naked body—swaying just a bit.
Her physique and magical power swelled.
On the training ground, a beautiful silver dragon emerged, glistening in the morning sunlight. Oh, a buzz of excitement spread across the training grounds.
“…Strong.”
Her magic power was almost on par with Faravgi’s… Considering her young age, she might even be said to be quite immature for a dragon, but she was definitely hiding a considerable potential. She might be a bit small, but she would likely grow larger over time.
Stretching like a cat and wagging her tail, Leila had her wings twisted in an ugly manner on her back. Just like that time with Faravgi…
“Can I climb onto your back?”
“Y-yes, please! It’s a small back, though…!”
She crouched low, readying herself. “Small back”? What does that mean? Is that some sort of humility among dragons?
She didn’t seem to be thinking about running away or causing a ruckus at all, which made me feel relieved and yet a bit disappointed about how completely her rebellious spirit had been crushed.
If I let my guard down and she bit me, there’s no doubt she would be the best actor in the Demon Lord Kingdom.
“Let’s go, Liliana.”
“Woof!”
Despite my complicated feelings, I climbed onto Leila’s back while holding Liliana.
Her wings—dark, tainted magical power was entwined like chains, rooting in place.
“This is it. Can you do it?”
“Woof!”
Liliana tapped the base of Leila’s wing with her short arm (or rather, her elbow).
A vast amount of light magic flooded in, and the strong curse that had rooted in her wings was obliterated in an instant.
Gradually, the withered wings regained their vitality—!
“Wow…!”
Leila, turning her long neck to look back, had her eyes sparkling with joy.
“That’s amazing…!”
She flapped her wings lightly, and it was clear she was genuinely thrilled. “I’m so glad!” Liliana purred happily in my arms.
To think that curse, which had tormented Faravgi so much, had been shattered so easily.
If we had met under different circumstances, could we have had such an ending…?
“Um… Is it okay if I try flying just a little…?”
“Of course. Go ahead and give it a try.”
I replied nonchalantly. It was surprisingly casual to grant permission, and Leila looked shocked.
“Thank you! U-umm… How do I do this…?”
She stopped on all fours, wiggling her wings as she puzzled it out.
“…Is it really okay? She might run away.”
Sophia whispered to me as I crossed my arms and watched.
“…She won’t escape.”
I shrugged and looked up at the sky.
Since the Allied raid operation—the patrols by dragons had been intensified.
Even now, I could see dragons forming formations far up in the sky. Dragons have ridiculously good eyesight… If anything suspicious happens, they would dive down and unleash their breath on us.
Leila escaping? Don’t be ridiculous. She knows very well how hard that would be, being a dragon herself…
“Alright, here I go!!”
But it seemed Leila was overly excited about her newly regained wings and wasn’t considering any of that.
She trotted forward, gaining momentum as she flapped her wings.
“…Do dragons really need such a run to take off?”
“I-I don’t know… It seems like they didn’t need it…”
I recalled dragons at the launching grounds seemed to kick off the ground lightly and take off right there.
“Here I go!”
With a flap, Leila spread her wings and leaped into the air.
Whoa… She’s gliding properly! It’s all about gliding first, I see!
“—Wait, huh, what’s that!?”
But as she tried to flap again, Leila slammed into the ground. It looked to me like she accidentally pushed the wind upward instead of pressing it down with her wings.
She skidded across the training grounds, kicking up a cloud of dust, and then crashed headfirst into the rock wall at the base of the Demon Lord Castle.
The ground shook with a thud.
The birds perched on the walls of the castle startled and took off flapping their wings.
“…Leila! Are you okay!?”
Stunned for a moment, I snapped back to reality and rushed to her.
Leila lay completely still. Is she dead!?
“…U… Uuu…”
Just as I was getting worried, Leila, covered in dust and fragments of rock, started to rise.
Blood dripped from her nose.
Her golden eyes filled with tears. In a rewind-like manner, her body shrank and transformed back into her human form.
Was it pain, shame, or perhaps humiliation? With her face flushed red, Leila sat down, crying, “…Wahhhh…!”
“Oh dear, meow meow!”
Garunya dashed over with her dress in hand, as if to say, “I told you so.” I took on Leila’s injuries. Ouch…
“Ugh… I’m so sorry!”
“…It’s okay. It’s been a while, so it can’t be helped. We’ll practice from now on, okay?”
“Uh w-wahhh…!”
I wiped her nose with a handkerchief and slipped the dress over her.
I turned back and shrugged at Sophia. Standing next to her was Virosa, who had released her grip from the sword, looking at us like we were some kind of pathetic sight.
“This looks like it’s going to take a while, huh…”
Sophia struck a pose of surrender and let out a small sigh.